Give gifts
6
They drove for almost two hours to eat. At first, Lin Ju was still talking to Zhao Xingcan, but she was really tired and soon became quiet.
Zhao Xingcan silently turned up the air conditioning in the car, and reached out to pull down the sun visor on Lin Ju's side.
There is leisurely light music playing in the car, which is very suitable for falling asleep.
Lin Ju didn't know how long he had slept. When he woke up, the car had stopped.
She was a little confused, and stood up, seeing Zhao Xingcan leaning against the car door smoking.
The sun was half-retired. He held a cigarette in his left hand and a cell phone to his ear in the other.
He was speaking, and judging from his lip shape, it was neither Chinese nor English, but rather sounded like French.
A language she couldn't understand.
She sat in the car, feeling in a trance that the boundary between her and Zhao Xingcan was an insurmountable chasm.
Zhao Xingcan must have noticed her gaze and put down his phone. The warm glow of the setting sun stained Zhao Xingcan's eyebrows and eyes. After taking the last puff of his cigarette, he walked around the front of the car, came to Lin Ju, and opened the door.
Lin Ju was a little absent-minded. When getting out of the car, she almost hit the roof. Zhao Xingcan stretched out his hand to block it.
Her forehead was pressed against Zhao Xingcan's palm, and she didn't react. Zhao Xingcan's hand gently parted her hair, and his cool fingers touched her skin, which was so hot that she shivered.
She heard Zhao Xingcan say, "Fortunately, I didn't bump into him."
Lin Ju didn't know how to answer, so she mumbled "hmm," "How long have you been waiting? Why didn't you call me?"
"Not long." Zhao Xingcan withdrew his hand, put it behind his back, and lowered his eyes. "Just now, after I fell asleep, my phone kept ringing."
After hearing this, Lin Ju took out her cell phone and found several missed calls and voice messages, as well as more than a dozen messages, all from Ke Jia.
Zhao Xingcan hadn't considered checking her phone, but the bright red number on the screen was too obvious. He tilted his head to look at Lin Ju and asked casually, "Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?"
Lin Ju curled the corners of his mouth and laughed at himself, "We've broken up."
Zhao Xingcan uttered "Huh?" and asked, half-seriously and half-fakely, "Can I know the reason?"
Lin Ju knew that Zhao Xingcan's question was not just out of curiosity, but more of a test.
Test what Lin Ju really wants in love?
Then, like a businessman evaluating goods, he weighed whether he could give Lin Ju what she wanted.
Lin Ju is no longer in love and will not neglect herself because of a quickened heartbeat.
She said matter-of-factly, "I don't feel that he loves me."
When Zhao Xingcan heard the word "love", his brows frowned inadvertently.
This is a sensitive word for him.
In his circle, what is most prevalent is hypocrisy, and what is most lacking is love.
For Lin Ju, there are traces of being moved, but retreat is also inevitable.
Just like now, when he heard Lin Ju's words, he knew that he and Lin Ju were not suitable.
Because the cost is too high, there is no need to go through all the trouble just for a momentary impulse.
For people like him, profit is everything.
Although I was not in the mood, I had been driving for two hours after all, so I still had to eat.
Zhao Xingcan brought Lin Ju to eat Wanning's famous dish, Dongshan lamb.
This area had not yet been paved with cement, and the car was parked on the gravel ground. Zhao Xingcan walked slowly beside Lin Ju, probably because he was afraid that she would fall, and reminded her from time to time about the gravel on the ground.
When I walked to the door of the store, I saw a long line waiting outside.
Lin Ju thought they also had to queue, but when the waiter outside saw Zhao Xingcan, he trotted over and said enthusiastically, "Mr. Zhao, the room you asked for is ready. This way."
Led by the clerk, the two of them bypassed the line at the door and walked into the store.
The decoration inside the store is very antique. There is an embroidered screen with a carp jumping over the dragon gate at the entrance. Past the screen is the dining hall with more than a dozen tables, all of which are full.
Lin Ju walked beside Zhao Xingcan. It was very noisy here, so she rubbed her ears with her hands.
Zhao Xingcan walked silently to the outside, raised his hand and gently put it next to Lin Ju's ear, "Go inside, it will be quieter in the private room."
"Mr. Zhao, this way." The clerk pointed to the left, where there was a small bridge with golden arowana under it. Lin Ju walked onto the bridge and glanced into the pond.
The further you go in, the quieter it becomes. Once you get to the private room, you can no longer hear the bustling noise.
A few minutes after we sat down, the mutton soup was served.
The waiter divided two bowls of soup. Zhao Xingcan stood up, took them, and placed them next to Lin Ju, "Be careful, it's hot."
The soup bowl contained mutton cooked to a mushy mess, its tender skin and flesh interlaced in a translucent color, sprinkled with a few chopped green onions. Lin Ju gently skimmed it away with a spoon, and Zhao Xingcan noticed, "Don't you want green onions?"
"I eat food when I'm alone. It tastes better when I eat it now." Lin Ju was very frank.
"It's okay, I'll eat it too. If both of us eat it, the smell won't be there." Zhao Xingcan said as he sprinkled a handful of green onions into his soup bowl, and the milky white soup was immediately covered with emerald green.
Hearing Zhao Xingcan's joke, Lin Ju's tense body finally relaxed.
After getting off the bus, Zhao Xingcan could feel the girl next to him feeling uncomfortable.
Lin Ju was more sensitive than he thought.
The mutton soup was boiling in the pot, and the hot mist was piling up layer by layer.
Zhao Xingcan turned off the fire, and the private room became completely quiet.
He took out a plain white gift box and gently pushed it with his fingertips, "This is for you."
Lin Ju stared at the silver-white patterns on the box. "What is this?"
"The other day, I was on the streets of Paris and happened to see something in a shop window. I thought maybe you could use it."
"Can I use it?" Lin Ju was confused. She picked up the gift box and slowly opened it. The pink and white silk headband stretched out like early cherry blossoms in spring, shining with a soft luster in the warm light.
Headbands are beautiful, but inconvenient.
Lin Ju closed the lid and gave Zhao Xingcan a faint smile.
On the way back, when they were still some distance away from the hotel, Lin Ju told Zhao Xingcan that she had eaten too much and wanted to get off the car and walk around to help digest the food.
Zhao Xingcan agreed.
The black sedan flashed its hazard lights, opened and closed its side door, and drove off again after its tires rolled over the dead branches on the ground.
The setting sun hung on the treetops, the rearview mirror was filled with the sunset glow, and in the beautiful colors, there was also Lin Ju's gradually fading figure.
When Zhao Xingcan withdrew his gaze, the corners of his mouth tightened and his brows drooped slightly.
The plain white gift box lay quietly on the seat, standing out against the black leather.
…
Lin Ju returned to Haishi on the next day's flight.
The mural was finished, and there was no reason for her to stay in Wanning any longer.
It was a cloudy day in Haishi. I took the subway from the airport. After getting off the subway and walking to school, it started to drizzle.
It was wet and cold. Before she went to Wanning, Lin Ju could still bear it, but now she felt the cold air penetrate into her bones, and her leg joints were sore.
She ran a few steps and arrived at school. After returning to the dormitory and taking a shower, she tied her long hair with a towel and leaned back in a chair to read an art magazine.
There was a knock on the door at this time. The dormitory manager opened the door and came in to tell her that the school would be closed the day after tomorrow and the dormitory would be renovated during the winter vacation and could not be lived in.
The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and the dormitory manager also wants to go home a day earlier.
Lin Ju felt embarrassed for delaying other people's vacation, so she quickly said that she would move out tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Lin Ju called Huolala.
Neither the car nor the driver could enter the school, so Lin Ju had no choice but to move everything by herself.
After struggling for a long time, she finally managed to transport all her works out of the school.
That night, Lin Ju spent the night in the warehouse, lying on a makeshift bed. There was no air conditioning, and the cord for her electric blanket was too short. Because she was in a hurry, she didn't even buy an extension cord.
Halfway through her sleep, feeling cold, Lin Ju got up, put on some clothes, and lay back down. Curling into a ball, she for some reason thought of the scorching sun in Wanning, the azure waters, and the perfume on Zhao Xingcan's shirt collar.
It's like the flame in the match girl's hand on a cold night. The absurd dream will eventually end.
After freezing all night, Lin Ju got up before dawn.
She spent the next few days renovating the warehouse. But the process wasn't smooth. Some wiring and wall painting work still needed professional help. This year's Lunar New Year came early, and many workers had already gone home. She made several phone calls, but was told they couldn't resume work until after the Lunar New Year.
Just at this time, Lin Ju's parents called her and asked her to come and celebrate the New Year.
After her parents divorced, they separated, remarried, and formed their own families.
Now my mother lives in Suzhou and my father lives in Beijing.
After the divorce, Lin Ju lived with her grandmother since she was a child. Her grandmother took care of her until she went to college. Last year, she had a fever and pneumonia and stayed in the hospital for half a month. Although she recovered, she was left with a persistent cough.
My mother then took my grandmother to live with her so that she could take care of her more easily.
Lin Ju wanted to see her grandmother first, so she went directly to Suzhou and stayed with her for half a month.
It was not until after the Spring Festival that her father called to ask when she would come, and she reluctantly said goodbye to her grandmother and flew to Beijing.
Beijing is dry and cold. She hasn't been back for three years. The dry and painful feeling on her skin reminds her of the time when she was first deaf and was brought to Beijing by her father for treatment.
Her father found the best doctor in Beijing, but still couldn't cure her.
Later, her father was busy with work, so she was given to her stepmother. Her stepmother pulled her out of school because she was deaf and dumb, and sent her to a special education school to learn sign language and lip reading.
It was her grandmother who rushed to Beijing and brought her out.
The day we left Beijing was also such a dry and cold day. The air was so cold that there was not a trace of wind. My tears had dried up and only cold dust splashed on my face.
Lin Ju wore sunglasses and a mask, a black short down jacket, and smoky gray tight jeans. She was tall and thin, with long and straight legs, black boots, and her curly long hair was casually tied up. She attracted a lot of attention as she walked.
She walked to the intersection and saw a black G-Class parked on the side of the road and honked its horn.
Lin Ju pretended not to hear and walked past.
Xu Gaoyou immediately got out of the car and walked to Lin Ju in two or three steps.
Lin Ju had just taken off her hearing aid when she felt pain in her ears while on the plane. She blinked at Xu Gaoyou, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and didn't react for a moment.
Xu Gaoyou pointed at himself with his index finger, "I am Xu Gaoyou, your brother." As he spoke, he touched the fingertips of both hands together, then pointed at Lin Ju, then stretched out the thumb and little finger of one hand, moving from the outside to the inside, and finally formed a triangle with the fingertips of both hands.
As Xu Gaoyou signed, his lips parted slightly, his voice clear and distinct as he said, "Lin Ju, I'm here to take you home."
Xu Gaoyou was the son of Lin Ju's stepmother and her previous husband, only one year younger than her.
When Lin Ju was learning sign language as a child, Xu Gaoyou insisted on learning along with her.
During that time, she and Xu Gaoyou got along well.
Later, Lin Ju left Beijing and the two never contacted each other again.
When we met again, the boy in my memory had grown up and could even use sign language so fluently.
She stood there without moving. Xu Gaoyou walked straight over, helped her lift the luggage and put it in the trunk.
Lin Ju took off her sunglasses and mask and followed him.
Xu Gaoyou turned around and saw Lin Ju's face. His eyes froze for a few seconds, but soon, he leaned forward slightly with his hands covering his stomach, his face showing a hungry expression.
Is he asking Lin Ju if she is hungry?
Lin Ju immediately gestured to indicate that she was hungry.
Xu Gaoyou laughed heartily and signed, "Let's go home and have dinner."
At this moment, Lin Ju felt comfortable for the first time in a long time. He didn't have to worry about his pronunciation all the time, didn't have to carefully watch the other person's lips when speaking, and didn't have to work hard to distinguish the sound.
We became childhood playmates and became familiar with each other in no time.
After Xu Gaoyou pointed at the car, he put his arm around Lin Ju's shoulders with one hand and opened the car door with the other.
Lin Ju got into the car without closing the door. She extended her right thumb and bent it twice.
The conversation between them seemed to be encrypted, and only they themselves knew what the other meant.
No one noticed that a black car with a serial number was driving slowly and silently.
The half-lowered car window rose, Zhao Xingcan withdrew his gaze, and rubbed the watch on his wrist with his thumb.
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